Heartbreaking news from Lampang: "Nong Tel," a young university student, and his aunt were both fatally struck by lightning in a cassava field. Their deeply saddened grandfather sat crying as he performed the water-pouring funeral rite for his grandson.
At 18:00 on 11 May 2026, Police Lieutenant Colonel Yothin Tesrimuang, investigator at Sob Prab Police Station, Sob Prab District, Lampang Province, received a report of a lightning strike causing two fatalities at a cassava field located at the border area between Village No. 1, Na Saeng Subdistrict, Ko Kha District, and Village No. 4, Mae Kwa Subdistrict, Sob Prab District, Lampang. The victims were an aunt and her nephew: Mrs. Chandi, age 56, and Mr. Nawarit Khueanjai, 22, a fourth-year industrial electrical engineering student at Lampang Rajabhat University, and a former student council vice president.Former student council vice president.Of Lampang Rajabhat University for the 2025 academic year.
Initial investigation revealed that on the day of the incident, the two victims and their family went to plant cassava at the field in the late afternoon around 18:00, as the sky darkened and rain approached. They, along with another villager, went to gather their belongings at a nearby hut located close to a large tree, preparing to return home.
Unexpectedly, lightning struck, causing their bodies to be thrown in opposite directions and fall motionless, ultimately leading to their deaths. Witnesses had to walk nearly 2 kilometers to seek help due to heavy rain turning the access road into mud, making it impassable for regular vehicles. Rescue and emergency vehicles waited at the road entrance about 2 km from the scene before tractors and six-wheel trucks were used to retrieve the bodies and take them to Sob Prab Hospital amid the family's grief.
At 11:30 on 12 May 2026, at a home in Village No. 4, Mae Kwa Subdistrict, Sob Prab District, Lampang, where the funeral rites for Mr. Nawarit Khueanjai, known as Nong Tel, were held, the family conducted the water-pouring ceremony. Dr. Phenphak Rattanakhampu, Member of Parliament for Lampang District 4 from the Kla Tham Party, visited to offer condolences and support to the family.
Villagers attending the funeral wept uncontrollably at the heart-wrenching scene as Mr. Mon Promwang, age 84, Nong Tel’s grandfather who suffers limited mobility, was supported by others to perform the water-pouring rite for his grandson’s body. The grandfather broke down in tears, deeply moving everyone present.
Similarly, at another home where the funeral for Mrs. Chandi was held, her husband was seen crying in deep sorrow. Friends stayed close to comfort him before everyone joined in the water-pouring ceremony.
Ms. Nonglak Khueanjai, 61, the aunt-in-law of the deceased, revealed that she was present during the incident when it was lightly raining. She and the two victims were hurriedly packing to return home, standing just a few meters away from them as they loaded belongings into a vehicle.
Suddenly, a loud thunderclap was heard, and both victims collapsed after being struck by lightning. She was shocked to see them fall and tried to lift her unconscious grandson’s body. She shouted for help but no one heard her, so she ran several hundred meters to seek assistance from villagers. She lamented why the lightning didn’t strike her instead, as her young grandson still had a bright future ahead. She described him as a very good boy, loved by everyone.